Feeding Rabbit vs. Pheasant

[Yarak_Eric]

I've been feeding rabbit to my red-tail most of this winter with some variance from time to time of other foods. He recently caught a pheasant, which was conveniant as I just ran out of rabbit at that time. Now for the last few days I've been feeding up Chet on the pheasant. He seems to be burning through that pheasant incredibly fast, but I was told this meat was more rich than the rabbit. I'm assuming this isn't the case as it's white meat and not red meat. I've had a few scares with feeding the pheasant lately as I am usually able to plan my hunts with his weight loss and the temperature when I'm feeding rabbit. I went in last night after feeding Chet up to around 830grams on Sunday night after a hunt, which usually takes him two days to burn off in the cold and even then he's higher than I want. It was an accidental overfeeding, so I skipped a day of feeding as I normally do to help him drop the weight (with the pheasant I'm making sure that it is soaked in water before feeding as it is a drier meat as well) After two days that 830 shot down to 685, which is the lowest he's ever been. I don't ever take him lower than 715 as that's his hunting weight. I quickly gathered a good bit more of the pheasant that I had brought and cropped him up completly. I'd never seen such a large crop on him and he was well over 800 grams. I went in this morning after just last night and he was already down to 710 and was off of the perch on the ground. Fed him up on a rabbit leg to get him back some strength. Why is it that the meat is running right through him?

[David Rampling]

My birds usually find pheasant richer, and need less of it to maintain wieght, especially if there is much nice yellow bird fat attached. I wouldnt bother soaking it though, it can take some of the goodness out. Might be worth getting him checked over, that is not what i would expect.

[Gozzhawk]

keep a close eye on him , worst case shot in phes.
dont wash phes , it will have no value.
buteo will get a lot out of rabbit , and yes phes is rich , so it will give energy but pass through very quickly.

Neil forbes Raptor Nutrition booklet is essential reading for all.............

all the best eric

[Gozzhawk]

ps , i assume you just got feeding wrong and he's low ..............

[Yarak_Eric]

My birds usually find pheasant richer, and need less of it to maintain wieght, especially if there is much nice yellow bird fat attached. I wouldnt bother soaking it though, it can take some of the goodness out I would think.

There was barely any of the yellow stuff on there. Maybe thats why it's just not fat rich and is very lean meat.

[Gozzhawk]

see above post

in experiment

Buzzard fed rabbit gained weight
Peregrine fed rabbit lost weight.

You have to think of birds digestive capability to get nutrition from food they evolved to consume.

not sure if

Peregrine fed phes would gain weight and buzz lose............

[Yarak_Eric]

keep a close eye on him , worst case shot in phes.
dont wash phes , it will have no value.
buteo will get a lot out of rabbit , and yes phes is rich , so it will give energy but pass through very quickly.

Neil forbes Raptor Nutrition booklet is essential reading for all.............

all the best eric

Thanks for that! Now that I think about it, I talked to my sponsor, and he had said that the meat was very dry, which it definatly is and that I should "DIP" the meat in water before feeding. What I ended up doing was putting water in the ziploc bag with the sectioned pieces and then freezing them, so the meat had frozen water which I'm assuming is sucking out nutrients just like washing the meat. So I've been giving her rich meat that is lacking in any of the richness. Now I feel really daft but that's a lesson learned. Does that sound right?

[David Rampling]

Thanks for that! Now that I think about it, I talked to my sponsor, and he had said that the meat was very dry, which it definatly is and that I should "DIP" the meat in water before feeding. What I ended up doing was putting water in the ziploc bag with the sectioned pieces and then freezing them, so the meat had frozen water which I'm assuming is sucking out nutrients just like washing the meat. So I've been giving her rich meat that is lacking in any of the richness. Now I feel really daft but that's a lesson learned. Does that sound right?

Could be.

[OutHawkn]

That yellow stuff is the fat and they need some especically in winter. Plus we've been having some pretty cold nights......
I feed quail,fur,feathers,guts and all, and I always dip them in water right before giving it to them. You have to unless your offering your bird a bath indoors every day. I dont ,the water freezes faster than they will hop down and drink. So even with your phez or rabbit, just dip it in water immediately before feeding,NO soaking. All your trying to do is hydrate the bird. Usually a good rule of thumb is dark meat has more protein and white meat has less. If your needing a good source of cheap food for your Rt you can breed rats for next to nothing and they offer a very good diet for a RT. Along with any kills they will do fine.............

[Yarak_Eric]

That yellow stuff is the fat and they need some especically in winter. Plus we've been having some pretty cold nights......
I feed quail,fur,feathers,guts and all, and I always dip them in water right before giving it to them. You have to unless your offering your bird a bath indoors every day. I dont ,the water freezes faster than they will hop down and drink. So even with your phez or rabbit, just dip it in water immediately before feeding,NO soaking. All your trying to do is hydrate the bird. Usually a good rule of thumb is dark meat has more protein and white meat has less. If your needing a good source of cheap food for your Rt you can breed rats for next to nothing and they offer a very good diet for a RT. Along with any kills they will do fine.............

Thanks for the info Bill. If I were going to be moulting him out this summer I'd probably start up with the rats, but I'm hoping I can get through on rabbits for the remainder of the season with pheasants thrown in from time to time or quail if I can get it.

[OutHawkn]

Thanks for the info Bill. If I were going to be moulting him out this summer I'd probably start up with the rats, but I'm hoping I can get through on rabbits for the remainder of the season with pheasants thrown in from time to time or quail if I can get it.

Quail are easy and cheap to raise as well. Not so much if you buy them from producers...LOL

[Yarak_Eric]

Quail are easy and cheap to raise as well. Not so much if you buy them from producers...LOL

When I own my own land, you would best believe I'll be raising quail, rats, pigeons and whatever else. Until then I need to get a box probably ordered from Brad Mitchell.